On Monday, Avalanche coach Patrick Roy let it slip that the hiring of new assistant coaches for this staff was imminent.

He wasn’t kidding.

Colorado announced Tuesday that former NHL defenseman Dave Farrish, most recently a Toronto Maple Leafs assistant for two years, would be joining Roy’s coaching staff.

Farrish, 58, has coached 24 seasons in the NHL and three different minor leagues, and he also spent seven seasons as an assistant at Anaheim and was on the staff there when the Ducks won the Stanley Cup in 2007.

“Dave brings a wealth of experience and hockey knowledge to our organization,” Roy said in a release. “He is the ideal candidate to complement our coaching staff and we look forward to working together to make our team as competitive as we can.”

Colorado also announced the hiring of Brett Heimlich as video coordinator. He held the same job with the San Jose Sharks the past eight seasons.

Farrish, whose duties will include running the defensemen, replaces Andre Tourigny and Heimlich steps in for Mario Duhamel. Both former Quebec Major Junior Hockey League head coaches whose teams played the Roy-coached Quebec Remparts, Tourigny and Duhamel were on Roy’s staff for two years before departing after last season.

A graduate of Wheat Ridge High School and the University of Colorado, Terry Frei has been named a state's sportswriter of the year seven times -- four times in Colorado and three times in Oregon. He's the author of seven books, including the novel "Olympic Affair" about Colorado's Glenn Morris, the 1936 Olympic decathlon champion; and "Third Down and a War to Go," about the 1942 football national champion Wisconsin Badgers and the players' subsequent World War II heroism.

Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson had butterflies before Sunday's game against the Detroit Red Wings. It wasn't because of the big-name opponent, but rather his return from a 13-game injury absence and being stoked to rejoin a team in a playoff push and looking for its third postseason appearance in 10 years.